No Time Like the Present
by Destiny Quill
Summary: [BL: BrooklynKai] Brooklyn has trouble describing his feelings, until Rei and Tala give him a birthday present he’s sure to like – a sleeping Kai.
1. Part One

¤ -No Time Like the Present- by Destiny Quill

¤ **Disclaimer:** This is a work of fiction. Name, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Bakuten Shoot Beyblade ©Takao Aoki

¤ **Summary:** (BL-Brooklyn/Kai) Brooklyn has trouble describing his feelings, until Rei and Tala give him a birthday present he's sure to like – a sleeping Kai.¤ **Pairing:** BL- Brooklyn/Kai  
¤ **Side Pairing:** N/A  
¤ **Warnings:** I've seen few episodes of seasons 2 and 3 of Beyblade. This fic is not beta-ed, but English is my first language, so feel free to correct any and all nit-picky grammar and spelling errors.

This is an experimental two-shot. Expect formatting explosions and randomness.

* * *

"_Opportunity is the basis for a future."

* * *

_

**-No Time Like the Present-  
**Part One

* * *

-¦-

Rei had never thought that lullabies could be so useful.

He also would never have thought that Kai fell asleep almost instantly when he heard a lullaby. Be it Brahms' Lullaby, composed by Johannes Brahms, or _Berceuse élégiaque_ by Ferruccio Busoni, or any other lullaby – Kai would instinctively curl up and doze off.

A mischievous grin formed on Rei's lips as he pondered that potentially useful morsel of information.

Tala had told him such after he saw Kai nearly nodding off in a store with a gentle song playing in the background. They were shopping for a present for Brooklyn, whose birthday was fast approaching.

Ever since BEGA's downfall, Tala had opened up to Rei. Rei learned of Tala's roguish tendencies, while Tala relied on Rei for support. The two quickly became close friends.

Both were sitting on a plush leather sofa in the expansive parlor of one of Kai's many estates.

"What could someone possibly buy for a guy like Brooklyn?" complained Tala, leaning his hands on the back of his head in a gesture of frustration.

Indeed, there seemed to be nothing that the genius found interesting or desirable, save for a certain blader that stayed out of his reach. Rei had seen the way Brooklyn looked at Kai; the way he seemed hurt every time the bluenette backed away from him in fear or spite.

Brooklyn simply did not know when to give up.

Noticing Rei's thoughtful expression, Tala attempted to snap Rei out of whatever trance he was in. "Earth to Rei," he called. The raven-haired neko-jin was still completely out of it. Leaning down to his ear, Tala cried, "Brooklyn's at the door! Hide the presents, hide the presents!"

Rei nearly gave himself whiplash by lurching forward to the edge of the couch. With a dazed look in his eyes, he frantically glanced around. "Tala… we didn't buy any presents yet," Rei's amber eyes narrowed.

"That's exactly my point. We don't even have the slightest idea of what Brooklyn enjoys or wants."

"He likes nature, doesn't he?" Rei pointed out.

"And what are we supposed to get him, a butterfly catalogue? I'm sure that most of the others have come to that same conclusion already."

"Does he have any pets?"

The redhead shrugged. "Pets are too personal, and most people like to pick them out themselves."

Rei and Tala sat in contemplation until the latter thought that the former had fallen into a stupor yet again.

Tala was wrong, as Rei soon spoke up. "I was thinking about what you said concerning Kai and lullabies."

"Go on," said Tala, looking at his friend with curiosity.

"Brooklyn doesn't display a need for material possessions, right?" When Tala didn't respond, Rei continued, "He does, however, seem like the lonely type."

"So we should give him a friend," Tala snorted. "Sorry Rei, but I don't think friends can be given as presents."

Drigger's master smiled, his canines flashing dangerously. "No, we can't give Brooklyn a friend, but for one day, we can give him his heart's true desire."

"Ok, now you're dancing around the topic. Dancing while wearing a frilly pink tutu."

Rei cut to the chase. "We can give Kai to Brooklyn."

Tala really wasn't expecting that. But then again, as the sheer brilliance of that idea dawned upon him slowly but surely, he found himself in favour of it.

"That way we can kill two birds with one stone. I can sedate Kai while testing Kai's reaction to hearing a lullaby, something I've been dying to do. Then we pack him up and bestow him on Brooklyn." Rei rose from the couch and stretched like a cat. "How 'bout it?"

The Russian was already concocting a plan.

-¦-

'_Brooklyn's birthday, huh,'_ Kai mused idly as he lay on a grassy slope, half-lidded eyes scanning the cloud-spotted cerulean sky. He rarely had quality time to himself and his two favourite blades – Dranzer and that wonderful monocotyledonous green plant, grass.

Right now, he balanced a limp blade of grass between his lips with deft expertise, all barriers dropped, basking in the full sun and serene breeze.

"Kai!"

The stalk of grass drifted to the ground as Kai rose out of his reverie. He performed a set of veiled stretches for the benefit of his slim frame before heading back to the dojo. All of the G-revolutions agreed to gather at Tyson's residence before heading to Brooklyn's place.

The phoenix was informed of the surprise birthday party only two days before the event itself. Thus, he thought he had an excuse for not buying a gift. He had no idea who exactly was invited, but they probably also didn't know what to give Zeus' blader, anyway.

Brooklyn and Kai hadn't parted on the best of terms, but they were changing simultaneously. Apparently, they both had related interests. Kai wasn't too fond of the other's formidable presence, but if he blocked out the dark aura surrounding Brooklyn, his company was almost comforting. Maybe even more than comforting. There was an emotion he couldn't quite place, and the closer he got to Brooklyn, the stronger it became.

Kai was loathe to admit that he liked being around Brooklyn.

It seemed that the ginger-haired teen enjoyed Kai's company as well. Hopefully, by simply being at the party, the bluenette could make up for his lack of present. He was filthy rich, but Brooklyn didn't need any bought substance.

"Kai, come on!"

Beyblade parts were definitely out of the question. Brooklyn had partially retired from beyblading in favour of research and other such pursuits.

"Where could he be?"

"I don't know, but we're going to be late if he doesn't get here soon."

It was a well-known fact that Brooklyn loved nature. Perhaps he shared Kai's obsession with grass. Shaking his head, Kai completed his descent down the hill outside of Tyson's dojo.

"Yo, K-man," greeted Gramps in his usual dialect once Kai had passed through the open _shoji, _or sliding doors.

Rei was holding a backpack as Max placed his small, square gift inside. Tyson was doing some last minute wrapping while Hilary berated his sloppy work. Partly tucked under Kenny's arm was a map to the apartment suite that Brooklyn had recently rented and now shared with Garland.

"Are we ready to go yet?" implored Kenny, looking towards Kai, who plainly assumed the leader role whenever he was in the room. The captain gave a curt nod and the rest of the team began to file out of the dojo.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai observed Rei slipping an mp3 player and two other devices with stubby antennas into his backpack. The phoenix doubted that the tiger was going to be bored enough to listen to music in the same room as a lot of other beybladers. Kai was the antisocial one, not Rei. But he didn't have much time to ponder that as the G-Revolutions left for Brooklyn's apartment.

Rei grinned. _'Walkie-talkies – check. Lullabies – check.'_

-¦-

Evidently, someone living in the apartment was a neat freak. The walls were a pristine, creamy olive, marked only by paintings of wild animals portrayed in the African veldt. The door opened to a cozy kitchen with a hardwood floor. On the far end of the kitchen was a typical glass sliding door, leading to a balcony and sporting lightly patterned drapes.

What struck Tala the most were the number and variety of plants. Brooklyn, the obvious nature fanatic, had placed some orchids, Lady's Slippers, and African Violets near the sliding door. Like everything else in the apartment, they were carefully groomed to near perfection.

Tala could have sworn that the cutlery was _smiling_ at him from its place near the practically glowing sink and next to the wrinkle-free tea towels, which were sitting on a spotless marble counter.

The Blitzkrieg Boy wanted to shut his eyes tightly, and not just to escape the glare reflecting off of the sparkling white dishes stacked precisely in a column.

'_Everything about this place screams clean…'_ Tala mentally shuddered, trembling imperceptibly.

There was no divider between the kitchen and a sizeable living room, which held a glass coffee table, a grand amount of potted plants, and two luxurious, dark green couches.

The Rebellion, Miguel's aptly renamed team now that Barthez was gone, was already setting up for the surprise party, along with Brooklyn's own team. Garland had let them in and was now moving some furniture to create hiding places for each blader to pop out of when Brooklyn arrived.

Matilda was standing on a ladder stringing up red streamers with the help of little Monica while Crusher held the ladder in place. MingMing was sitting at the kitchen table, giving decorating advice. Mystel was simply floating around and observing, Claude seemed to be taking a list of inventory, and Aaron was busy helping Garland. Hardly anyone looked up from their work to acknowledge Tala.

The redhead couldn't understand why Garland didn't just invite his own team but invited The Rebellion, the Blitzkrieg Boys, and the G-Revolutions as well. Nevertheless, it was fortunate that no one had inquired about Tala's team's presence, especially not the large, pre-wrapped cardboard box that Bryan and Spencer were balancing easily.

Tala really didn't want to explain why the box had breathing holes.

On his right side, there extended a dark corridor, which probably led to the washroom and bedrooms. He beckoned for Spencer to carefully follow him with the mysterious box. It was empty and not heavy at all, but it was large enough to block the view of anyone carrying it.

At that moment, the G-Revolutions arrived. Rei spotted Tala immediately, but kept quiet, deliberately blocking Kai's view of the hallway on his right.

"Hey, guys!" called Tyson, bounding over to help, with Max at his side.

"Thanks for coming," Garland set a mahogany end table on the ground. "Brooklyn's out at the park with Hiro. He won't be back for another couple of hours."

"Right, so, what's the plan?" Rei subconsciously directed his question to Tala, who had finished depositing the box off in a spare multipurpose room.

"We just need to finish decorating. Claude's already ordered refreshments, and I've hidden the presents for now," explained Miguel, returning from the washroom.

Rei hid his glance at Tala. "Plans are underway?"

Tala responded, "See for yourself."

If anyone noticed the pair's peculiar behaviour, they kept their suspicions to themselves.

-¦-

"Hiro, when a perennial dies, no one mourns. There are plenty more flowers to choose from, some even more beautiful. Is a human life so different than that of a plant?" Brooklyn abruptly stopped walking, head tilted up at the leafy green crowns of the elm trees lining the park path.

Light filtering through the substantial branches caused Hiro Granger's shadow to flicker. "Of course."

"How so, then?" wondered Brooklyn.

"Humans have emotions."

The simple answer was exactly what the young genius was expecting. He was still staring at the sky that Kai had looked at only a short time ago. Neither he nor the bluenette had dealt with much human emotion before. Brooklyn's neglectful scientist parents had never had the time to socialize with their only child.

Needless to say, Brooklyn was a lonely soul.

His fragile trust in Hiro had already been broken. The only one he had faith in was Garland. On the other end, hardly anyone trusted Brooklyn after the BEGA fiasco and the disaster his last beyblade battles had caused. There was one person that he wanted to trust and be trusted by. It was possible that Brooklyn wanted more than just trust.

That person was the one thing he truly coveted. Then, maybe, he might uncover some emotions within himself and within the other – emotions beside anger and sorrow.

-¦-

"Yuriy to Sunbeam, Red Hawk is in the spare room. Over."

"Roger that, Yuriy."

Rei and Tala were using their ingenious codenames to communicate using walkie-talkies. At the moment, Rei, or Sunbeam, lay in wait inside the wall-length closet in the spare room, keeping the large box company. How it fit in the closet was beyond Rei, but his focus was on the fact that it was severely restricting his leg space. Tala, codenamed Yuriy, was stationed across the hall, sipping punch and looking like he was talking on a cell phone while actually giving updates to his partner.

Kai glanced at Tala, unsure as to why Tala was bobbing his head, leaning against the side of the hallway. Making up his mind to go greet his best friend at last, he left his spot where he was watching Garland restrain Tyson's attempts to eat the birthday cake.

"Tala," said Kai nonchalantly. Oddly enough, Tala stuffed his hand into his pocket before turning to look at Kai.

"Hey, can I talk to you alone? It's about Brooklyn," Tala recovered quickly.

"Hn." Kai knew well enough about his friend's qualms about Brooklyn growing closer to the phoenix. Kai didn't mind at all, since Zeus' master was such a good silent conversationalist.

Tala led the shorter teen into the spare room, sitting in an extra armchair. Kai sat down as well.

'_Comfortable? Good. Phase Two, Rei.'_ Tala thought. Out loud, he stated, "I know my position on Brooklyn. I'd like to hear yours."

Kai was ready to launch into a sentence or two about how he didn't mind Brooklyn just _being there_ and how they were respectable acquaintances.

"Hold on, though, I'm out of punch. I'll be back in a sec," interjected Tala before Kai had the chance to speak. He exited the room, closing the door, holding his empty plastic cup, leaving Kai alone with his thoughts.

'_Why did he close the door? Maybe I'm worrying too much. When Brooklyn arrives, it should be easier to concentrate, though,' _he thought. Contrary to what he first predicted, he found it soothing to be around the ginger-haired blader. Not to mention, Brooklyn was quite easy to look at.

Closing his eyes, Kai tried to sum up what he felt for Brooklyn, using the few emotions he could properly identify. _'Companionship, no doubt. We actually did spend some time on the pier last week in friendly conversation. Empathy, as well. He's so similar to me that I can read him almost instantaneously. He probably has the same issues with feelings as me._'

Truth be told, Kai was curious as to what the dark genius thought of him. There was definitely something deeper to Brooklyn than he had foreseen.

-¦-

"Yuriy, this is Sunbeam, why couldn't you have been posted in the closet?" Rei muttered into the walkie-talkie, aching to flex his sore legs. The musky scent of clothes – presumably the sweats belonged to Garland while the trench coats belonged to Brooklyn – was starting to suffocate him. The neko-jin wanted nothing more than to escape the cluttered closet.

"Sunbeam, Red Hawk is in position already. It's too late now."

"I hear you, Yuriy. Over and out."

The thin slot of light that Rei was trying to see through allowed a small view of Kai with his back to Rei, apparently in meaningful contemplation. Carefully groping around for the mp3 player that had been hooked up to a speaker, both of which he brought in his backpack, the tiger pressed the 'play' button.

-¦-

Soft, tinkering notes and trills began wafting out of the closet in the beautiful solo piano melody of Frédéric Chopin's _Opus 57_. Kai didn't recognize it, but realized it was a famous classical berceuse, or lullaby.

'_Oh, shoot.'_

Had it been any other sound coming from a closet of all places, Kai would have immediately jumped up and assumed a defensive stance. However, his senses involuntarily dulled and he refrained from opening his eyes. His eyelids felt like Tyson was sitting on them.

The world was no longer _there_, it was a hazy outline, like seen from underwater. This was warm, calm water, nothing like the icy liquid of Brooklyn's darkness.

'_Brooklyn... Brooklyn's surprise birthday party... tired...'_

Kai promptly fell asleep, slouched in the armchair.

-¦-

From inside the closet, Rei snickered. Tala's information was correct. "This is Sunbeam. Phase Two is complete."

"Roger that. Move out for Phase Three."

Tala inconspicuously slipped away from the crowd of bladers still helping with last-minute preparations. Most of the presents were set in nearby hiding places already, but he wanted to keep the box in the spare room until Brooklyn had opened the rest of his gifts. There were simply too many questions to answer if the box was revealed beforehand.

Already, Bryan had asked what Tala was planning. Being an expert at looking innocent, the wolf merely replied, "A large joint present among Rei, Kai, and me."

It was partially true, anyways, only Kai had no say in the planning.

Entering the spare room, Tala was relieved to see that Kai was thoroughly asleep. Rei was already out of the closet, stretching the kinks in his back and legs. "I got Red Hawk right where you want him," he flashed a cheeky smirk at Tala, motioning to where Kai laid, white earphones in his ears. The earphones, connected to the mp3 player, would make sure that Kai didn't wake up and escape the box, which Rei had dragged out of the closet.

Together, the partners in crime lifted Kai's body and positioned it in the open gift box, on top of a soft, baby blue blanket. Then they replaced the lid, which was dotted with breathing holes.

"Kai, Rei!" Max called from the living room between laughs as he watched Garland bind Tyson's hands together. Dragoon's blader protested verbally, but it was futile once Garland tied a handkerchief around his mouth.

"Now we're at a sub-phase – the excuse. Sunbeam, if anyone asks, say that Kai was feeling nervous about socializing and went for a walk. He told me not to send anyone looking for him, and to have fun without him."

"That doesn't really sound like Kai."

"Fine, take out the 'fun' part. Wow, Kai's actually purring!"

"I never expected that, to tell the truth."

Kai, of course, was sleeping like a baby.

-¦-

"There's a new emotion, Hiro," Brooklyn had absolutely no idea why he was spilling all his confusion and secrets to the older Granger sibling.

"Think about it carefully. It takes time to sort out your feelings." The birthday boy and Hiro were in an elevator, heading to the eighth floor.

Ding. Another floor passed. _'Kai is special, I'm aware of that much,'_ thought Brooklyn.

The fourth floor zipped by. Ding. _'He's... cute. Adorable, really,'_ the green-eyed teen struggled to find the right vocabulary.

Hiro shifted his position. Ding. _'But I want to know what's inside that exotic exterior.'_ Ding. _'I want to be closer to Kai. It feels _right_ when he inadvertently brushes my arm. It felt _wrong_ when I hurt him during the battle. It felt right when he forgave me.'_ The seventh floor approached as Brooklyn tried to work things out step by step. _'Kai seems like one to hold grudges for a long time. Why did he forgive me so easily?'_

Ding. _'Maybe we feel the same. Something passionate, yet indescribable.'_ A final 'Ding' resounded as the elevator came to a stop. Brooklyn was still trying to put words around the unfamiliar sentiment as he and his companion opened the door to the apartment.

"Garland?" Hiro called casually.

Brooklyn sensed there was something wrong. The flow of the room... it felt like some invisible force was pushing down on the apartment. Cautiously slipping off his shoes, the passive teen followed Hiro. He half expected to find dead bodies littering the hallway.

Someone giggled, followed by a frantic 'shh!'

Now, Brooklyn relaxed. He was sure there was no catastrophe lying in wait.

Hiro flicked on the kitchen light.

"**SURPRISE!"**

Brooklyn gave a wide smile to Garland, who was standing behind a potted fig tree. The martial artist no doubt arranged the odd spectacle. Crusher and Monica were craning their necks around the corner on Brooklyn's left. Mystel was floating behind the TV in the living room. MingMing, Hilary, and Matilda had been hiding behind one of the couches, while Miguel, Claude, and Aaron were now standing near the other.

Tyson, still bound in ropes, appeared to have been rolled underneath the kitchen table, on which lay a cake decorated with the words: "Happy Birthday Brook!" There was no space on the end of the circular cake to add the rest of Brooklyn's name, he noted with slight amusement. Max and Kenny were also huddled beneath the kitchen table.

What really gave Brooklyn an almost-fright (he was still unwilling to admit fright), though, was not exactly the fact that Tala and Rei had nearly knocked over the wooden stands holding his precious flowers, or that Spencer had suddenly popped out of a nearby closet.

Actually, it was the realization that Bryan was flat against the wall behind the open apartment door... holding a knife.

Garland took one look and strode over, closing the door and allowing Bryan some breathing space. Hiro looked seriously spooked. Indifferently, Bryan advanced on the kitchen table, causing Kenny, who was under the table, to whimper. Then, the lilac-haired falcon set the knife down beside the birthday cake.

"Well?" he turned and questioned. "What about cake?"

The tension in the room evaporated. Hiro sighed in relief, ushering Brooklyn to cut the cake.

Meanwhile, Kai slept.

-¦-

* * *

"_Sometimes opportunity must be created."

* * *

_

**NOTES:**

• I split this one-shot into a two-shot since it was getting quite lengthy. The fluffy next part should be up soon.

• You may now laugh if my experiment failed. Har-de-har-har. xD

• All my base may belong to them, but all of the sentences and quotes in this fic belong to me.

• Procrastinating is the ultimate tool for writing fan fiction.

• Please drop a review for my first fic.

—


	2. Part Two

¤ -No Time Like the Present- by Destiny Quill

¤ **Disclaimer:** see part one  
¤ **Summary:** see part one  
¤ **Pairing:** BL- Brooklyn/Kai  
¤ **Side Pairing:** N/A  
¤ **Warnings:** see part one

This is an experimental two-shot. Continue to expect formatting explosions and randomness.

* * *

"_Face the facts and don't look back."

* * *

_

**-No Time Like the Present-**

Part Two

* * *

-¦-

Mentally sighing, Brooklyn tried to concentrate on the friendly chat and laughter surrounding him. He wasn't the most sociable person, but he made an effort to have fun for the sake of those who were kind enough to organize such an event.

Even though he tried, his mind kept drifting back to a familiar slate-blue-haired blader. '_Why isn't Kai at the party?'_

Luckily, Garland saw through his fake smile and approached, sitting at Brooklyn's side.

"Tala tells me that Kai went for a walk to get away from the crowd. He'll be back soon, now that you've discovered the surprise party."

'_How did he –_'Brooklyn was astounded by his friend's clairvoyance. "Oh, thank you. And I appreciate your organizing of this celebration. I would have forgotten my own birthday without you."

Garland smiled. "I just wanted to remind you that you have many more friends than you may believe."

Brooklyn felt truly blessed at that moment.

"Happy Birthday, Brooklyn!" Crusher called as he passed his _friend_ while dancing with Monica on the kitchen floor. This exclamation prompted another round of 'Happy Birthday' singing from Max and Tyson, who continued to inhale the leftovers of a cake dedicated to their _friend_.

The girls were giggling and chatting, and Spencer pulled down a streamer from the ceiling to emphasize his playful banter with Bryan, all in the apartment of their _friend_.

Friends. They were all Brooklyn's friends.

And then there was Kai.

'_What makes Kai so different? It doesn't feel the same without him here as well.'_ The orange-haired blader rose from his chair to find Kai outside.

"I left your coat in the closet in the spare room," allowed Garland, as if reading the other blader's mind again. He led Brooklyn to the spare room, sliding the right part of the four-paneled closet door to one side. Garland felt a bit confused, since the inside of the closet was different than how he remembered leaving it. All of the storage boxes were pushed to the back of the closet.

Brooklyn noticed Apollon's blader hesitate. Gradually, as if it were constantly in the background but only now realized, he became acutely aware of a low rumbling behind him. He turned around and saw the gift box left in the spare room.

Instantly captivated by the size of the present and the fact that the rumbling was coming from inside it, he warily headed towards the box. Oddly enough, it had breathing holes. The soft rumble continued to stop and start in a soothing rhythm.

Garland also noted the box with curiosity. It might have been a stereo playing a relaxing thrum, but he doubted it. Brooklyn finally lifted the lid off of the box.

What he saw inside made his breath hitch in his throat.

-¦-

Rei was growing worried. Brooklyn and Garland had left for the spare room and hadn't returned yet. _'What if they found out?' _he couldn't help but think.

Snagging Tala by the sleeve, he asked covertly, "Do you think that Brooklyn and Garland will be back soon?"

Tala was upset at having been stopped in the middle of his game of trying to tie Tyson to the table (A/N- alliteration!), but answered nonetheless. "They went to the spare room, right?"

"Yes, and don't forget what we left in the spare room!" Rei hissed.

"The box."

"Exactly, and won't they be curious?"

Silence. Unfortunately, it wasn't a contemplating silence or even a stunned silence. Tala had merely managed to grab Tyson's hat and was now waving it above his head.

Rei's patience was wearing thin. "Tala, what do we do if they open the box and find –"

"Find what?" Miguel had come up behind the two during the conversation. Rei abruptly let go of Tala's sleeve and turned around, startled.

"The presents, of course," the tiger replied quickly, although he hated to lie.

"Does that mean Brooklyn will be opening his presents shortly?" the Spanish captain questioned.

"I'm not sure when, but it would be best if everyone wrapped up their games for the moment," Tala said confidently. The other bladers were informed, and everyone grabbed their presents to give to the birthday boy.

Everyone except for Garland, Brooklyn, and Kai.

-¦-

The only thing that Kai could see – he couldn't actually _see_ it, rather, he just _knew_ it was there – was a drape of hazy black, red, and blue. His first view went in the direction of some kind of pseudo universe. Then his mind rewound and desperately tried to regain its sense of reality as he opened his eyes to the swirling fog of drowsiness.

'_Have I really opened my eyes?'_

A piano's pure notes rang delicately through the phoenix's ears for the longest time. He lost all senses for... how long, an hour? Three hours at the most.

Then, as if by command, the music stopped. The last wisps of lethargy stilled, and then they evaporated.

At last, the drapes were pulled aside, and Kai could see a new colour. Green... everything was green. The green subsequently compressed itself into smaller orbs, which Kai found strikingly attractive. He felt his far-off body lift a lazy arm and attempt to touch the _green _– those two faultless, iridescent, unearthly emeralds.

'_Green,'_ his mind churned to recognize the colour. His lips parted to murmur almost noiselessly.

Kai felt himself tip forward, bringing his body closer to the _green_, sighing apologetically. _'I know that green,'_ he continued to repeat in his mind.

Feeling strangely comfortable, Kai allowed himself to fade away into the darkness again.

"Green."

-¦-

Brooklyn couldn't believe his eyes. Worried at his friend's pause, Garland came to Brooklyn's side and stared into the box too. He involuntarily gasped.

Inside the large gift box laid the infamous, bad-ass blader Kai Hiwatari, curled up on his side, hands clenching a baby blue blanket, his lips slightly parted. He was the source of the low rumble – Kai was purring.

Once Brooklyn overcame the initial shock, he gently lifted the petite bluenette by the armpits, surprised at how light he was. Garland watched suspiciously as an mp3 player and earphones fell from Kai's ears. The martial artist picked up the mp3 player, raising an eyebrow when he realized it was playing a lullaby.

Kai mewled softly and opened his eyes just a hair's breadth. Brooklyn resisted the urge to coo at how cute that was. Although, he was sure that Kai must be either sleepy or on some sort of drug to be acting this way.

As if to confirm those thoughts, Kai lifted an arm sleepily, reaching for Brooklyn's eyes. He stroked the taller blader's cheek, bewildered crimson eyes opening in search of recognition. His pouted lips murmured something Brooklyn couldn't quite catch.

Meanwhile, Garland was seriously considering taking pictures of the angelic scene.

"Green." Kai leaned even closer, resting his head on Brooklyn's upper chest. His hand slipped away from the other's face as he fell back into a doze.

A few cherished seconds later, Brooklyn broke the silence.

"Now my birthday is... _perfect_."

-¦-

Contrary to popular belief, plots and trickery do not always hatch on dark and stormy nights. Tala and Rei's plot had started in a sunny parlor, and had ended the moment Brooklyn opened his wonderful present.

Green eyes gleamed mischievously. The gift box hadn't had a name tag, but whoever had trapped Kai in a box was going to be in for one heck of a surprise.

"Open it, Brook!" pleaded Max about his gift, which was the last one.

So far, Brooklyn had received a scarf from MingMing, two butterfly catalogues from Matilda and Claude (which prompted some nudging and snickering from Tala to Rei), a cactus from Mystel, and some plant seeds and assorted supplies.

"Hey, where's Kai?" wondered Tyson aloud. "He's such a wet blanket."

'_Oh, you'll see...'_ Brooklyn had left the snoozing blader on his own bed, planning to wake him up later and surprise whoever had planned on giving Kai as a present. "Thank you, Max! These scientific studies are great entertainment," he exclaimed halfheartedly.

Max gave a wide grin. "No problem, man."

At the moment, Rei was fidgeting in anticipation. He considered himself extremely lucky that Garland and Brooklyn had come out of the spare room without further ado, abandoning their trip to find Kai outside in favour of opening presents. Now, Tala had snuck off to drag their shared present out into the open.

They both thought that everything was going according to plan.

-¦-

Upon entering the spare room again, Tala couldn't detect anything wrong. The box was quite light, but he hadn't thought to test its weight after loading Kai into it. He shrugged it off, pulling the box along the floor, down the hall and into the living room.

Miguel gave Tala a surprised glance, but kept silent. Soon everyone else noticed Tala.

"This is our present to you, Brooklyn, an excellent friend," Rei declared, gesturing to Tala. "Kai has a part in it as well, although he seems to be missing at the moment."

Garland and Brooklyn exchanged looks. _'He has no idea.'_

Zeus' blader was given the box with a flourish. Soon, almost every blader was quivering in curiosity as he took his time taking the lid off of the box. Brooklyn was relieved to see that there was no wrapping paper – the box was decorated itself – since he found the pesky decorations a waste of valuable trees. However, he thought grass was a much more intrepid plant. _'I hope that Kai likes grasses too.'_

Clearing his head of such irrelevant thoughts, Brooklyn removed the lid.

At last, he gave a fake gasp.

"What is it?"

"Let me see!"

"It's..."

"...empty."

Brooklyn reached a hand into the box and pulled out the mp3 player and blue blanket. "Thank you, Rei, Tala! You shouldn't have. I love blue!"

'_It doesn't look like it,' _thought Miguel, taking in the green drapes, green couches, and green walls. His observant gaze landed on Rei, whose jaw was practically hitting the floor. Tala was also gaping in shock.

"B-but... there's supposed to be something else!" Rei scrambled to his knees, almost crashing into the coffee table. "H-how?"

"Do you mean that these aren't mine?" Brooklyn held out his 'presents'.

A yawn interrupted the confused silence that followed.

Kai was standing in the far end of the kitchen, his eyes half-lidded and his silky hair disheveled. His loose navy blue shirt was slipping off a pale shoulder, giving him an innocent appearance.

"Kai!" Tala looked about ready to faint in surprise. He probably would have, had he not been one of the coldest and most ruthless beybladers in the world.

Brooklyn also felt like fainting, not because of astonishment, but because of the incredible hotness displayed in front of him. The girls giggled as Kai ran his fingers through his tousled hair and a slack fist across his glazed-over eyes.

"Happy... Birthday," the bluenette murmured to Brooklyn.

"Kai, dude, you took a _nap_!?" Tyson cried in disbelief.

"You look pretty tired; you can rest in my room," said Garland, amused.

"But it was a LULLABY!" Rei was up on his feet, pointing at Kai. "You're supposed to be in the box!"

By now, everyone was staring at the neko-jin like he had cut his hair and started singing 'Promiscuous Girl' by Nelly Furtado.

Tala tried to save the situation. "He means that Kai should be resting at home, since he has the flu and all! Right, Rei?" he laughed nervously.

The tiger was blinking rapidly, the cogs in his brain grinding away. Before he could answer, Brooklyn delivered the punch line: "Then, earlier, why did Garland and I find Kai in this box before me now?"

There was a collective gasp and some chuckles.

"I... Happy Birthday?" Tala managed to say.

Kai opened his eyes fully, although they were still hazy. "Green!" The slender teen mumbled in an uncharacteristically high pitch and padded gracefully over to Brooklyn. He fell into the orange-haired teen's lap, leaning his head on his shoulder and apparently falling asleep again. Drowsiness was probably a side-effect of Kai's reaction to lullabies.

"Awww!" cooed Hilary, whipping out a camera. Bryan nudged Tala, saying something about planning ahead for worst-case scenarios

Eventually, the party resumed, after Rei had finally recuperated from his shock.

Brooklyn had never been more content in his life.

-¦-

When Kai woke up, his face was nestled in the crook of Brooklyn's neck, while Brooklyn's hand rested on his left hip. He rubbed the slumber out of his eyes, yawning slightly in a catlike manner. Sitting up, he was fully alert at last.

The partygoers had left a short time ago, and Garland was cleaning the apartment with the help of Tala.

"Hey," Brooklyn said softly, nibbling Kai's earlobe. Kai stiffened automatically. This had never happened to him before – at least not in his waking conscious.

"Brooklyn?" he whispered, unsure of himself. A peculiar feeling ran across his cheeks with each of Brooklyn's breaths.

"Tala and Rei gave you to me," Brooklyn told Kai, feeling him sit up quickly, sending his famous glare to Tala. That was the kind of strength that drew the genius to Kai in the first place. Now, he felt it was something more.

"Why you..." Kai was being held back from standing up. Since it was Brooklyn, he didn't really mind the restriction. That was new.

"Realize that, since you're my gift," Brooklyn paused for effect, "you're _mine_."

The bluenette blushed faintly before leaning back again into the taller teen's gentle embrace. Without any uncertainty, he brought his nose up to nuzzle the other's own nose. Now that Brooklyn was so close, Kai could clearly see his captivating green eyes, free of flecks. Where had he seen those before? Oh, right, they were _that_ green.

Both boys gave contented half-smiles, one remembering how Kai had been lost in a dreamlike state, and the other highly embarrassed about what he could remember.

"Don't forget that I'm still here, so don't try anything," Tala warned Brooklyn playfully, dumping some paper plates into a garbage bag. He seemed to be getting along well with his previous enemy, Garland.

Kai's smile widened. "Brooklyn," he whispered, "do you feel what I feel?"

The green-eyed teen didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what Kai meant by that. "The fluttery, heart-racing sensation?"

"You sound like a smitten fangirl," Kai chuckled breathlessly. Brooklyn's face was well within his personal space, yet he felt completely at ease.

"Only for you, beautiful."

Words make thoughts more solid. Brooklyn had never believed in affection, but now he realized he had always wanted to experience it for himself. _'I can't properly tell you what I feel; only I'm drawn to you... I want you... I need you...'_

_Emotions are felt, not spoken._

_One does not need to hear to sense._

_What does it matter when you name an emotion?_

_**Forever **is in the** heart.**_

'_There is no time like the present to start anew – together we can...'_

At last, Kai and Brooklyn's lips touched in a chaste, yet thrilling, first kiss.

'_...name our **own** emotions.'_

-¦-

* * *

"_Live life before it's over, and love until you can no longer."

* * *

_

_·°¤ Owari ¤°·_

--

**NOTES:**

• Thank you to Ethereal Flower, NKingy, XxSweet MitsukaixX, Rios Masquerade, Vendetta-Rose, MikaMiko, limecandy, and Tuli-Susi for reviewing the previous part! You're so nice.

• Please leave a review for my first fic.

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